Hand brake



May 17, 1932. J. F. o'coNNoR HAND BRAKE Filed Jan. e, 1930 III) i Patented May 17, 1932 UNITED STATES Aram Y oF ic i JOHN r. OCONNOR, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoR To W. H. MINER, INC., or CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION lor DELAWARE f Y HAND BRAKE Application led January 6, 1930. Serial No. 418,797.

This invention relates to hand brakes.

Une object ofthe invention is to provide ahand brake mechanism for railway cars especially adaptedto be mounted on the end wall of a car, including a chain winding drum and gear means for rotating the drum, wherein ratchet means is employed for preventing retrograde movement of the chain winding drum, the ratchet .means being so designed that the brake may bebacked oli" or eased oi against the action of said ratchet means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hand brake mechanism including a rotary chain winding drum, a pinion geared to the drum for actuating the same, and ratchet means for opposing retrograde movement of the drum, wherein the ratchet means is geared to the driving pinion and is so designed that the brake mechanism may be backed or eased O' against the action of said ratchet means, and wherein free running of the brake drum is obtained to permit unwinding of the brake chain in release by disengagement of the driving means of the drum and pinion by moving the drum away from the pinion. i i

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l is an elevational view of my improved hand brake'mechanism, illustrating the same as mounted on the end wall of a railway car. Figure 2 is a'vertical, sectional view longitudinally ofthe car, corresponding substantially to the line-2 2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a horizontal, transverse, sectional View corresponding substantially to the line 3 3 of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a vertical, sectional view in a plane transverse of the car of the lower end portion of my brake mechanism, corresponding substantially to the line 4 4 of Figure 2. And Figimprovements in .ure 5 is an enlarged, elevational view of portions of twoV cooperating ratchet members employed in connection with my improved hand brake.

In carrying out my invention, I preferably enclose the operating parts of the hand are rotatably journaled in bearing members brake in a two part housing which is mounted on the end wall of the car, the end wall OI4 said car being designated by 10` in the drawings. The two part housing comprises a back plate l1 anda cover member 12. The back plate 11 is substantially of the outline shown, in Figure 1 and has a pair of laterally projecting securing lugs 13-13 at the bottom end thereof, and a pair of upstanding securing lugs '14*14 at the upper end.

-The'cover member 12 of the housing-comprises a vertical outer wall 15 and a projecting flange portion 16 forming 'a cylindrical side wall of curved outline at the upper end of the cover member and having vertical sections 17-17 at the lower endv connectedV by a' curved bottom wall 18. The side wall 16 is provided with an opening 19'at the right hand side of the housing, as seen in Figure 1, through which the brake chain operates. The chain of the brake mechanism is indicated by 20 and is connected in the usual way to the brakey mechanism proper, notshown, which includes the usual brake shoes.

My improved hand brake mechanism proper comprises broadly a chain winding drum A; an eccentric journal member B, on which the drum is rotatably supported; an operating shaft C having a driving pinion D thereon; an operating hand wheel E; and springv pressed ratchet means F geared to the pinion D. i

The chain winding drum A. has a hub portion 21 which is rotatably mounted on a jourdrum. The journal member B is provided with fa pair of trunnions 23 and 24 which 25-25 inwardly projecting from the front and rear walls of the housing respectively, and engaging the oppositefends of the hub of the chain winding drum A., The bearing portion 22 is substantially cylindrical andis eccentric with respect to the trunnion members 23 andV 24. The trunnion member 24 extends outwardly of the front wall of the housing andl has an operating lever member .26V secured to the outer endthereofby which the journal member B may be turned to displace the eccentric portion thereof and move the brake drum upwardly away from the pinion D. As clearly shown in Figure 2, the

tending portion 28 forming a ,gear member which is integral with the drum. The brake chain 29 is Secured to the winding drum A cyan outstanding lng'29 with'm the channel of the drum, the end link of the chain extending through an opening' in said lug. The operating handley 26 for the iournal member B has its oscillating movement limited by a pair of spaced lugs 301-30 which determine the extreme movements of saidlever and the Vfront-wall of the housing.

eccentricjonrnal member B.,

The operating shaft C has its inner end -iournailed in a bearingl opening' 3i provided in the rear plate 11 of the housing; The outer'end portion of the shaft is of slightly larger diameter' at the innerend thereof and is iournaled inan outstanding boss 32 on the The shaft C projects outwardly beyond the' boss 32 and has the hand' wheel E; fixed thereto in any suitable manner. As shown in Figure 1, the hand wheel is secured by a ke member and is heid in position by the usua nut threaded on the end of the shaft. The pinion D is preferably formed integral vwith the shaft C and meshes directly with the Agear teeth of the gear 28.`

The ratchet means comprises a pair of disclilre cooperating ratchet members 34 and 35. The ratchet members are journaled on a shaft 136, which has' its opposite ends seated in alined openings provided in the `front and rear walls of the housing. The vratchet member 34e is in the form of a gear member and meshes with the= pinion D. On the inner side the ratchet member' 3ft is.- provided with a plurality of ratchet teeth 3.6 arranged in annular series, radiating from 4the axis of -rotation of the disc andv cooperating with a similar set` of ratchetteeth 37 on the member 35. The member 35 has a cylindrical'hub portion. 138 which surrounds the shaft 136 and has the inner end'spaced an appreciable distance from the vertical end wallL 11 of the housing A helical spring 139 surrounds the hub portion 138 and is. interposed between '60A the outer disc-like 'section ofthe member 35 and thev wall 11 of thehousing and vurges the teeth 37 of the member35 toward the teeth 36 of the member 34. 'In order to hold the ratchetmember 35 against rotation, the same is provided with a forked lug 40 which embraces the operating shaft C, as clearly shown in Figure 4.

Upon reference to Figure 5, it will be seen that the ratchet teeth 36 and .37 of the two ratchet members 34 and 35 are so designed that a ratcheting action will be had when said members are rotated relativelyA to each other in either direction but that greater resistance to rotation is offered in one direction than in the other. The, teeth 3'6 and 37 of the two ratchet members are of like design and each tooth has an opposed pair of inclined surfaces 38 and 39 which are disposed at different angles with respect to the plane of rotation of the ratchet members. As clearly shown in Figure 5, the surface 38 of each tooth is arranged ata keenery angle with respect at the plane of rotation of the ratchet members than. the face 39 of said tooth. The

inclination lof the. faces 38 of the teeth of;

the two ratchet members preferably' corresponds substantially tothe inclination of the engaging' sur-facesy olf the usual ratchet members employed in hand brakes'. "The inclination of the faces 39 of the-.ratchet teeth is suchw that relative rotation of the two. ratchet members will be prevented when the brake chain is being tightened and when the same is fully tightened. VIn otherwords, the resistance to rotation offered by the engaging surfaces 3939 of the ratchet members exceeds the force exerted by the pull of the brake chain duringthe winding operation and when fully tightened so as to: prevent retrograde Inovement of the chain winding drum and hold the brakes in tightened condition when applied. 'ItY is further pointed out that the inclination of the faces 439 of the teeth of the vratchetv members is such as to permit ratcheting of these members and relative rotation thereof when power is applied to rotate the hand wheel of the brakes in a direction so asto effect unwinding of the brake chain. The parts are so adjusted and the tension of the spring 139 is such that only slight additional force need be exerted by the operator to effect rotation of the hand wheel in the direction to unwind the brake chain.

The operation of my improved hand brake mechanism during a chain tightening operation is as follows: The hand wheel E is rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure l, thereby eecting rotation offthe pinion Band through the gear 28 which lmeshes with the pinion rotation of the chain v- 35. Y As will be evident, due to the keen angularity of the faces 38 of the teeth little re sistance is opposed to rotation of the pinion during the chain winding operation. However, backward rotation of the member 34 with respect to the member 35 is prevented by the relative blunt cooperating engaging faces 39-39 of the teeth 36 of the gear 34 and the teeth 37 of the gear 35. As hereinbefore pointed out, the resistance offered by these cooperating faces of the teeth is suflicient to prevent retrograde movement of the chain winding drum A and hold the brakes tightened.

W'hen it is desired to ease off or back up the brakes, the hand wheel E is rotated in a contra-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure l, thereby effecting rotation of the chain winding drum in a clockwise direction and also effecting rotation of the ratchet meniber 34 in a clockwise direction, movement of the ratchet member 34 being permitted by the cooperating teeth of said member and the member 35, as hereinbefore pointed out. The slight additional force exerted by the operator on the hand wheel E is sufficient to overcome the resistance between the cooperating surfaces 39-39 of the ratchet teeth. In this connection, it is pointed out that the pull of the tightened brake chain assists the operator in the backing off or easing up of the brakes. When it is desired to completely release the brakes, the lever 26 is moved to the dotted line position shown in Figure 1, thereby rotating the eccentric journal member B and lifting the chain winding drum A away from the pinion D so as to disengage the cooperating teeth thereof. Free running of the chain winding drum A is thus permitted and the brakes released.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, but the lsame is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

l. In a hand brake, the combination with a chain winding drum; of a rotatable, eccentric. supporting means on which the drum is mounted for rotation; a pinion for operating said drum; means cooperating with said pinion for preventing retrograde movement of the drum, including' an interengaging pair of ratchet members, said members having co.- operating ratchet teeth, each tooth having a pair of reversely inclined engaging surfaces; and means for turning said eccentric support to disengage the pinion and drum to permit free running of the drum and release of the brakes.

2. In a hand brake, the combination with a chain winding drum; of a rotatable, eccentric support on which the drum is mounted for rotation; of a pinion for rotating said drum; means geared to said pinion for opposing retrograde movement of the drum, including respect to the plane of rotationof said ratchet member toy permit i relative rotation thereof Awhen said drum is operatedin a chain kWind- .fing direction and the other face of which is disposed at a relatively blunt angle tosaid plane of rotation to oppose retrograde relative movement of said members to hold said drum against retrograde rotation, the angle fofr said blunt faces being such that the resistance to relative movement of the ratchet members is overcome when power 1s applied to the actuating. pinion to back off the brakes;

`and means for turning said eccentric support to disengage the pinion and drum to permit free running'of the 'drum andV release of the brakes.

3. In a hand brake mechanism, the combination with a rotary chain winding drum; of

means for rotating the drum in reverse directions for winding and unwinding the chain; and means yieldingly opposing rotation of said drum in chain unwinding direction, including an annular ratchet member' rotatable with the drum in both directions, a second annular ratchet member held against rotation, and yielding means for forcing said ratchet members in engagement with each other, said ratchet members having cooperating interengaging teeth, said teeth having two sets of cooperating inclined engaging faces, one set of cooperating faces being reversely inclined to the other set, one of said sets of cooperating faces being disposed at such an inclination to permit free ratcheting action when the drum is operated in chain winding direction, and the other cooperating set of faces being of such an inclination as to normally resist rotation of the drum in chain unwinding direction, but permitting ratcheting action in said last named direction when power is applied to said means for rotating the drum in unwinding direction, thereb permitting manual backing-off of the brakes. 4. In a hand brake mechanism, the combination with a rotary chain winding drum; of

rotary means for rotating said drum in reverse directions to respectively wind and unwind the chain; and means for yieldingly opposing rotation of said drum-in unwinding direction, with the drum in both directions, a cooperating` ratchet disc held against rotation, but movable toward and away from said rst named ratchet disc, and spring means yieldingly urging said last named disc toward the first named disc, the cooperating teeth of said ratchet disc having two sets of cooperating engaging faces, the faces of one cooperating set being reversely inclined to the faces of the other cooperating set, one of including a ratchet disc rotatable kzo Ysaiclsete of cooperating faces being disposed "at a relatively keen angle with respect to the plane ofrotation of said ratchet discs to permit relative rotation thereof when said drum isoperated in a chain Winding direction, vand the other set of cooperating faces being disposed at a relatively blunt angle with respect to sadfplane of rotation to oppose reverse relative movement of said dises to hold said .drum against retrograde movement, said blunt faces being disposed at such an angle 'Wit-h respect to the plane of rotation of said discs that the resstanceto relative movement of said discs is overcome When power is applied to the actuating means to back oi the brakes. 1

In witness tliatI elaim the Aforegoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 3rd day of January 1930 4 Y JOHN F. OCONNOR. 

